Stained Glass Repair: Scott Taylor

Stained Glass Conservator

Phone: 1-804-230-0056

Stained glass windows are architecture’s jewelry and like the glowing gems we wear, they need occasional cleaning and repair. But experts, who can appropriately restore cracked panes or warped leading on historic windows, are scarcer than a Tiffany original. So we should listen carefully when a well-respected stained glass conservator like Scott Taylor offers this advice: don’t do it yourself. "A lot of windows have come to me in pieces after people tried to push a section back into place. If you’re not an expert, it’s best to leave the window alone. Proper conservation, like the medical profession, embodies the philosophy: First, do no harm."

What attracted you to this field?

I came to it by accident, through a part-time job in a stained glass production studio in the early 1980s where I learned to repair damaged, older pieces. Stained glass conservation isn’t one thing: it is 50% art; 50% science.

Career path:

My education was very "seat-of-the-pants" until I apprenticed with Jack Cushen (a stained glass conservator in New York), where I was exposed to art history and chemistry as they relate to the conservation process. I now concentrate primarily on churches and historic properties. I’ve worked on many historic projects including a hurricane-damaged window at Tuckahoe Plantation (Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home), more than 450 windows at Agecroft Hall (a 500-year old Tudor mansion transplanted to Richmond, VA), French Renaissance stained-glass pieces from the collection of Williams Randolph Hearst, and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

What’s changed in the field since you started doing what you do?

Stained glass windows are made today as they were in the Middle Ages. A 12th century glazier could walk into my studio and go to work. He’d see some new tools, like glass cutters and soldering irons. But the rest would seem familiar.

Project you’re proudest of:

A mosaic window in The Confederate Memorial Chapel (Richmond, VA) fabricated from tiny triangular pieces set in a metal matrix. The Belcher Mosaic Glass Co. developed this construction method in the late 19th century thinking it would be cheaper than traditional leaded glass. But mechanically, it was a bad idea. It didn’t hold up. I had to invent a process to make the window structurally sound. My colleagues advised me to "run away" from the project.

Most unusual commission:

The "Seven Ages of Man" window at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. Designed nearly 80 years ago by Italian-born stained-glass artist Nicola d’Ascenzo, the window is over 400 square feet and the only one of its kind in the world.

Based on Shakespeare’s "As You Like It," the window depicts the stages of man from childhood to old age. Most stained glass window studios recycle images (or cartoons, as the sketches are called), like the "Ascension," the "Resurrection" and so on. The figures are the same, even if the background changes. But there is no other window like the "Seven Ages of Man" anywhere.

Why does what you do matter?

We live in a disposable world. So it is important to protect and nurture our cultural heritage, no matter the form in which it exists. The conservation of our historic and artistic works serves as one way to achieve this goal.

Range of services you offer:

Conservation of stained and leaded glass windows. If I’m treating a piece with a missing section I can duplicate it. Windows are basically all alike in terms of conservation. The solutions are the same. They’re just applied differently.